The Daily Prompt #3: Odd Couple

From:The Daily PromptThe Prompt: Does a messy home (or office) make you anxious and cranky, or is cleaning something you just do before company comes over?A Response I Can Relate to: Tommia’s Tablet (Oscar or Felix?)A Response from Dust Mates: Paul Scribbles (Mr. and Mrs. I so get you.)A Response for Clean:Head Full of Fluff (You got nothing on my Mom and Grandmother)

My Response:
It’s a Jekyll and Hyde situation. Operation “Hide Crap” is a phrase we have used often. Company is coming! Quick put pants on and grab a hose! That is fast beginning to wear off though as I am used to fighting a losing battle. Or I spend all day cleaning and it looks like I didn’t do much else, but sit and eat bon bons.

I have what I call “organized chaos”. There are always things that I keep well organized like books (number one of course), movie DVD/BluRay/games, CDs, the kitchen cabinets, clothes, and the kids’ toys. I get really put out when my book shelves get tossed and pages crushed. Do not dog ear my books or I will pummel you. Can we please not put my measuring cups in the wrong drawer? And for the love of all that is good in this world, put the goddam games back in their case. I don’t want to play case hopscotch when I’m in the mood to play Assassin’s Creed or Sonic. I let my husband keep our wedding music CD in his car and he lost it. Why do the shirts need to fit just so? Because otherwise they don’t fit in the drawer. Why are we missing one piece of this puzzle? It’s not that big of a room!

Scene: Outside there is a fresh foot of snow piled up in drifts on top of the previous foot of now.

“Momma where’s the sled?”
“Did you put it back like I told you?”
“No,”
“Well, you’ll just have to wait until spring”

As for the pocket of chaos? My desk has always been a problem of electronic wires, paper, pen, and odds and end. I used to be able to find it three or four times a year, but I spend my days now picking up the same messes generated by the small children. We moved a year and a half ago and I still have boxes to unpack. Half of the Christmas decorations are still up. There are craft supplies that need putting back in four different places in the house. I sometimes rummage through it, “Hey! That’s where that is!”

The laundry.

It’s a problem.

Laundry to do. Laundry still in the dryer. Folded laundry to put away. Am I the only adult in this house who knows where anything goes? The kitchen cabinets are good, but the refrigerator is a different story. It vacillates between, “Looking sharp baby!” and, “What is making that smell?” Dust. We have it. Flotsam? Everywhere. Baseboard heaters? Clean. The sink, used to be clean before whiskers from the big one and misplace spits from the two small ones.